


Born Again Dying

by mthrfkrgdhrwego (universalchampbalor)



Category: Motionless in White (Band)
Genre: Aromantic, Asexual Character, Assault, Bigotry & Prejudice, Bisexual Male Character, Catholic Character, Crossdressing, Demisexuality, F/F, Female Character of Color, LGBTQ Female Character of Color, M/M, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Violence, Nonsexual Crossdressing, Pansexual Character, Religious Bigotry, Religious Content, Roman Catholicism, Small Towns, Transphobia, Voodoo, overbearing religious family, voodou
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 14:35:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6198832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universalchampbalor/pseuds/mthrfkrgdhrwego
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asheville is a conservative area in Western North Carolina. Mark Bray lives there with his mother and father, who are dedicated Christians who follow their religion carefully. So, when 4 goth kids move in next door, things kinda go wrong.</p><p>And what happens when the crossdresser gets particularly close to Mark?</p><p>(posted as 'Neighbors' on Wattpad under the username 'paralyticstates' though this one has small changes)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

It was a shock when the boys moved into the neighborhood. There were four of them, black marks against the green, North Carolina landscape. It was a conservative area, so the goths sporting tattoos, piercings, and other embellishments brought trouble.

The inhabitant of the next house watched curiously through his bedroom window. Truth be told, it was disgusting. It was disgusting how two of them clung to each other. It was disgusting how one was wearing a dress and heels, and how they wore heavy makeup.

"Mark! Come down please!" His mother yelled up the stairs. He obediently listened. His mother, Amy, was a petite brunette with a gently wrinkled face and warm green eyes. His father, Eric, who was standing with a hand on the small of his wife's back, was tall and well built, with orange hair and dark eyes. "Yes?" Mark asked, leaning against the banister rail. "Well, the new neighbors just moved in. We were going to see if you would go invite them over to dinner so we can welcome them." Amy chirped. Mark could tell from their smiles they hadn't seen the neighbors yet.

Still, Mark knew there was no use arguing. He forced a smile and pushed on his shoes before agreeing and walking outside.

The house wasn't bad. It had dark blue wood paneling around the outside, with white trim and a matching door. Flowers bloomed in the garden, a small black hatchback and a U-Haul truck in the driveway. Mark braced himself and knocked quietly. He hoped no one answered.

Sadly, the door opened and revealed the one in the dress. A cardigan covered snow white shoulders. "Hi. May I help you?" Okay, maybe this was a girl; the voice was way too high to be a guy's. "Uh, yeah. I'm Mark, I live next door. My parents wanted to know if you guys wanted to come over for dinner. Ya know, to welcome you to the neighborhood." A silent chant of 'pleasesaynopleasesaynopleasesayno' echoed in Mark's mind.

The girl's(?) face lit up. "Oh, yeah! I'm Devin by the way. Let me get the others." She said, a grin eating up her face. She disappeared back into the house, leaving Mark to awkwardly stand on the porch. A second later, all four of them were in front of him.

The tallest- and clearly the oldest-one had long, jaw length black hair, pale skin, and honey eyes. He was an imposing figure-much taller than Mark, and covered in tattoos. Metal clung to his lower lip. Clutching his hand was the smallest of the group. Blue eyes shown behind shadow coloured hair that dusted his shoulders. 3 lips rings, black in colour, adorned his face.

Devin was probably had the least tattoos and piercings. Her hair was half black and half white, split down the middle. A small ring circled her nostril. Her eyes, framed by mile long lashes, were a pale blue. The last was easily the scariest. He wasn't terribly tall, though he was muscular. The side of his head was shaved, the missing hair replaced with ink. He had odd piercings above his top lip that stuck out from his skin.

"Guys, this is Mark. He and his folks invited us over to dinner. Mark, this is Chris, Ricky, and...Josh." Devin said, naming them in the order Mark had noticed them. She shot a goofy smile at Josh, who rolled his ice coloured eyes.

Mark forced a smile. "Well, let's not keep your parents waiting."

''''''''''''''

Just as he'd predicted, Amy and Eric were...shocked, to say the least. The group introduced themselves, and seemed nice enough. They made awkward small talk until the stove dinged, signalling the lasagna was done. "Oh. Uh, Mark, can you set the table? Eric, come help me in the kitchen." Amy asked, clearing her throat awkwardly.

Devin, who was sat next to Mark, asked, "Do you need any help?" Mark paled. "Uh, no, I got it." He said, practically tripping over himself to get to the table.

Dinner was going to be difficult.

''''''''''''''

Mark was right.

Trying to make polite conversation with strange people who you didn't know was awful.

"So, where are you guys from?" Eric asked, taking a bite of his lasagna. "We moved from Scranton. It's up in Pennsylvania." Chris said. He was very social, as was the rest of the group. "Why'd you move? If you don't mind my asking." Amy inquired, looking owlishly at their guests.

"Well, we finished high school, so we decided to move. We heard some good things about Asheville, so we picked here." Devin explained. She wasn't eating much, more just watching the others.

"What do you guys do?" Mark asked abruptly. It was the first he'd spoken to them at all at dinner. "Um, I'm getting a job over at a tattoo place in downtown- I'm a tattoo artist. Devin works as a piercer, and Ricky and Chris work at the music stores downtown." Josh answered, tugging on his stretched ears.

"How about you? What do you do?" Devin returned the question politely, folding her hands in her lap. "I'm a pastor at the church right outside the neighborhood. Amy works over at the middle school as a secretary, and Mark here helps out at the summer camp as a councilor. He also volunteers at the animal shelters." Eric answered, a smile firmly on his face.

Chris's smile faltered. "We're having a sort of community gathering on Sunday. You guys should come!" Amy chirped, not noticing her son's exhasperated reaction. Chris tightened his jaw. Ricky placed a hand on his bicep. "We'll see. We still have some stuff to move into the house." He said quietly, a whisper of a smile on his face.

"Oh, yeah. Man, I am not looking forward to that." Devin groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "Well, Mark's free tomorrow! He could help you move in everything!" Amy offered, a large and clearly forced smile on her face.

Mark was mentally dying.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo i suck at writing kill me

Amy made sure to wake Mark up early the next morning, saying something about making friends.

Mark obeyed, mostly because his mother was a force to be reckoned with. And he did not want to deal with that.

Eric was not pleased when Mark came down, now wearing a blue button up and some jeans. He was arguing with Amy in the kitchen. He heard, "I don't want my son hanging out with a bunch of faggots" before he turned and stopped listening.

He left the house; it's not like he had anything better to do with his day. And even though he found his new neighbors repulsive, something about them was intriguing, and pulled him in when he wanted to stay away. And besides, Devin was nice. And she was pretty, too.

He made his way next door and knocked. The tall one, Chris, answered. He was wearing a loose sweater and sweatpants. His face was void of makeup, showing his pretty pathetic eyebrows. His brow furrowed. "Why are you here?" He asked, his eyes set in a glare. "Um, yesterday I said I'd help you move in? I mean, I can leave if you want me to..." Mark said. Honestly, he would jump at the chance to leave.

Suddenly, Devon burst outside, wearing a tshirt and some baggy shorts that hung loosely from her waist. Her hair was pushed back underneath a beanie, and she wore heavy boots. Sweat gleamed at her hairline, making her pale skin glitter in the sunlight.

She stomped over to the U-Haul, which had the back opened up. She grabbed a small armchair, which was bigger than her torso was. She wrapped her arms around it and hugged it to her chest, walking back towards the house. She stopped and looked at Mark from behind the chair. She just brushed past them, and there was a thud a few moments later as she set it down. She walked back out, leaning on Chris, one hand on her waist and her breathing heavy.

"What're you doing here?" She asked between breaths. "I said I'd help you move in yesterday. I can leave." Mark said, pointing his thumb back over at his house. Devin smiled. "We could use some extra muscle. Chris here is a diva and won't help, and Ricky's smaller than a lot of this stuff, and he can't lift it because he fractured his wrist. Really, it's just Balz and I." She said with a tired smile. "Balz?" Mark asked, though he didn't really want to know.

"Oh, that's Josh's last name. We call him that sometimes." She explained, the smiled never leaving her lips. "C'mon, I need some help with this mattress." She pulled Mark over to the U-Haul, pointing over at an old box-spring that was stained with what looked like black hair dye and makeup. "Whose is this? It looks pretty beat up." He said, grabbing the edges. Devin had climbed in the truck and was lifting the other side. "It's Ricky's. He was too tired to do anything when we got back here, so he just passed out on the floor. I swear, he can sleep anywhere." Devin said with a chuckle, shaking her head endearingly.

"He's had this thing since middle school. Can't bring himself to get rid of it." Devin said with a smile. "How'd you guys meet?" Mark asked as he lowered the mattress to fit it through the doorway. "Chris and Josh grew up in the same town. I moved from California in 7th grade and Ricky moved from Seattle in 5th. We just kinda hit it off." She recounted.

Inside, Chris was lounging on a cracked leather couch, Ricky curled up on his chest. "Uh! I could've helped you!" Ricky protested as he saw Devin and Mark carrying his mattress. "Rick, you can't lift this thing. Here, go grab the instruments and put them in the office, okay?" Devin called down the stairs as she and Mark carried the bed up into the second floor of the house. "It's the door at the end of the hall." Devin grunted as she readjusted her hold on the box spring. "Okay." Mark said, backing up through the doorway. He and Devin dropped the mattress onto the black bed frame that was covered in peeling paint and deep gouges in the wood.

Devin sighed heavily and dragged her hand across her forehead. Sweat clung to her pale skin, creating a sheen over her face. A few stray pieces of hair stuck to her skin, creating a small web of black and white. "Okay. Ricky and Josh will be moving the instruments, and Chris said he'd put together the desk and stuff later. So...I think this is it." She said, out of breath and her muscles straining as she stretched them above her head.

Her shirt rode up a tad, revealing well defined sex lines leading towards the waistline of her shorts, as well as a thin train of black hair that disappeared into the hem. Mark's mouth ran dry. Devin dropped her arms, and shoved her hands in her pockets. "So...we're ordering pizza soon. Do you want some?" She asked, her voice nonchalant and full of ease.

"Um... I think I should get home. Dad probably wants me to help set up for the event tonight." He said quickly. It wasn't a lie; at least, not entirely. Eric often called upon Amy and Mark to help him set up for events the church has, and even employs Amy's daughter Eden when she was in town. Devin shrugged. "Okay. What's the event?" She asked, crossing her arms across her flat chest. "Uh, it's something the church does twice a year. It's kinda like a get together for the town. There's food and games, and a local band plays every year. There's bouncy castles and inflatable slides and stuff for the kids, and Dad does this whole big sermon. My half-sister Eden will come up from New Orleans and visit, so that's nice." He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Cool. Chris won't come; he's a stubborn little shit. Ricky would go, and so would I. What time is it at?" She asked, pulling her phone from her back pocket. "Uh, it's at 7. It'll sometimes go to midnight or later, but we never really know." He said hesitantly. Devin typed it into her phone and nodded. "Alright. Do you guys want any help setting up?" She asked with a grin. Mark remembered his father's words from earlier.

"Well, I don't think so. He's got Mom and me, and Eden's coming down later today. Some other members of the church are helping too, so." He said, rubbing his neck anxiously. "Okay. I'm just in a mood to do stuff other than write or play, so." Devin said with a small smile, looking down at the ground. Mark's heart twitched.

"I...I'm sure we could use some more help. You might want to take a shower and change though." He added with a laugh. Devin chuckled. "Okay. Can you give me the address? I'll tell the guys where I'll be and I'll ask Rick if he wants to come." Mark told her the address and made his way out of the house. Chris shot him a death stare and Ricky smiled slightly. Josh was nowhere to be seen.

He made his way down to the church, which was only a few streets over from where he lived. When he got there, he saw his parents and some of his friends there, all setting up tables or games or whatnot. Amy spotted Mark and ran over with a smile. "Hey. Devin said she wanted to come help, so she'll be over in a little while. Have you heard from Eden?" Mark asked, hugging his small mother to him. "Oh, wonderful! Eden will be here in around 3 hours-there was bad traffic near the Mississippi border, so it'll take her a little bit longer than usual." She explained, wiping her hands on her jeans. "Alright. What should I help with?" Mark asked.

Eric strode over, placing a hand around his wife's shoulders. "Go help Marie with setting up the food tables inside." He said, not stopping to say hello to his son. "Okay." Mark responded, making his way to the empty room that served as the mess hall in the church. Marie was the daughter of one of the other pastors at the church. She was pretty; short brown hair, green eyes and heavy freckles. She was short and thin, and often wore pretty shirts and small shorts that hung from her hips.

She looked up when she heard the door open, her glasses sliding down to the tip of her nose. Her face lit up. "Hey! Long time, no see!" She chirped, bounding over and giving Mark a hug. He stumbled a bit and steadied himself before wrapping an arm around her small frame. "Hey. So, what do we need to do?" He asked, peeling himself away from her.

"Well, we need to put these tables up, and then put out chairs. We also need to put the coolers and the water jugs in here." Marie said, suddenly all business. "Alright. Let's get to work." Mark said, clapping his hands.

''''''''''

It took quite a long time to get everything set up. Lugging around chairs and moving tables wasn't very fun to begin with. So, Mark and Marie rewarded themselves with some ice cream they found in the freezer. They sat down and began eating, talking about this and that. Mark mentioned the new neighbors, and how two of them would be coming that night. Marie just nodded. "Alright. I mean, you said they seemed nice. So what if they look a little different?" She shrugged, shoving a large spoonful of chocolate ice cream into her mouth.

There was a knock on the door, and then it opened. Devin was standing there, wearing a short black crop top with long sleeves that covered her hands. A high waisted, dark red circle skirt covered her belly button. She wore tall, tall black heels that must have been 6 inches tall, which made her several inches over 6 foot tall. Her bangs were tucked behind her right ear, the left side falling free. She was wearing her makeup again- pale foundation, dark eye makeup, and a deep red lipstick. She saw Mark and smiled.

"Hey." She said as she made her way over. Marie looked at her weird for a moment before sticking out her hand. "Hi. I'm Marie." She said with a smile, standing. Marie was short by most standards, but Devin towered over her. "Hi! I'm Devin. Nice to meet you." She smiled, shaking Marie's hand. She turned to Mark. "So, is there anything I can help with?" She asked. Mark thought for a moment. "We can go ask my Dad, see if he has anything." He said with a shrug.

Devin nodded, and the three of them left the room. They made their way over to Eric and Amy, who were standing around talking to one of the other pastors. Marie strode over and tapped Eric on the shoulder. "Hi. Um, do you have any other work for us? We finished setting up in the mess hall." She said, clasping her hands in front of her. Eric looked at her and his son, before looking at Devin. "Go blow up the balloons and tie them up, okay?" He said, his brow heavily furrowed. She nodded and began the trek over to where they stashed the helium tanks and balloons.

The three set to blowing up the balloons. It was an easy task, and left a lot of time for them to talk as they did it.

They asked Devin about Pennsylvania, and California, and she asked them about North Carolina. They talked about little, unimportant things and cracked jokes with each other. Mark found himself getting distracted, caught up in the conversation rather than the task at hand. This resulted in several popped balloons. With each one that broke, Devin flinched hard and cowered back in on herself before regaining her composure.

The door to the room flung open with a loud bang. The group looked up to see who the intruder was.

The girl was tall, and her bare feet were stained with dirt. Her skin was a mix between ivory and ebony, resting on the darker side of the line. Her dirty blonde hair was twisted into dreadlocks adorned with flowers and beads, which were held under a bandana on top of her head. She wore a simple green shirt that was obviously homemade and a loose, tattered brown suede skirt.

Gris gris bags and other pouches hung from her thick leather belt. Her eyes were a bright, bright green that glowed against her dark skin. Despite wearing no makeup, she was strikingly beautiful. Rings and chains dangled from her ears, her lobes stretched wide.

A large gold hoop adorned her left nostril, a matching chain spanning between that and her ear. Mark's face lit up. "Eden!" He exclaimed, tripping over himself and over balloons to reach the girl. She grinned. As she extended her arms, she revealed black lines and dots inked onto her dark arms.

"Frère!" She chimed back, wrapping her arms around him. She held him at arms length. "Wow, you've matured." Her voice held a distinctively cajun accent that gripped her words tightly. Mark gave a goofy smile. "And you don't look any different than last time." He complimented.

The girl, Eden, looked over Mark's shoulder to see the girls. "Ah, and who are these lovely ladies?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Oh. The one with the glasses is Marie, and the dark one is Devin." He said, gesturing at either girl as he mentioned them.

"Ah. Your girlfriend?" She asked, making a sweeping gesture to Devin.

Mark wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow him.


	3. III

Devin laughed. "No, we're not dating. My friends and I moved in next door to Mark yesterday." She answered, her red lips curling up at the edges. Eden nodded slowly, eyeing the dark girl. "Well, darling, I should go say hi to mom. I'll be right back." Eden said, placing a kiss on Marks cheek. With that, she left, leaving behind the scent of fresh dirt and cinnamon twirling in the air.

Marie went back to the balloons. This wasn't her first time meeting the mambo. Devin looked pleasantly amused. "I wouldn't have expected her to come from such a religious family." She said with a chuckle. Mark sighed. "She's my half sister. My mom was married before to some guy she won't even talk about. Eden moved down to New Orleans with him when I was 5. She picked up voodoo there. She comes and visits when she isn't busy with school. She's studying psychiatry." Mark explained.

Devin nodded. "Cool." She said before going back to tying strings on balloons.  
[][][][]

The work was monotonous, but they finished it quickly enough. 7 o'clock rolled around, and people started trickling into the church. Ricky showed up a little later than most people, wearing a white button up, a black vest, and matching slacks. Devin grinned and wrapped her arms around him, smothering his small stature.

Marie was polite and asked him simple questions about him and the others. Eden simply adored the small goth. Every time he mentioned or brought up Chris, he lit up, his smile wide and baby blues bright. "How do you know this Chris?" Eden asked as she toyed with a voodoo doll. It was one for herself- a tuft of her hair was sewed into the top seam. He blushed and looked down at the ground. "We met in 5th grade. We've been...dating since 9th." He said quietly. Eden smiled. "That's great. My girlfriend and I have dated for 4 years." She said with a sly wink.

"You have a girlfriend? _Four years?_ " Mark asked, bewildered. Eden nodded in confirmation. She was just beginning to speak when Mark stormed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> most of these parts were written during school okay


	4. IV

Mark made his way to the cold stone picnic benches behind the church. A small, dilapidated cross hung off the back wall of the church, the wood soaked and chipping. He sat on the bench, hanging his head down. His orange hair covered his eyes and clouded his vision. He clasped his hands together and prayed.

He was in the middle of his prayer when he heard footsteps towards him. He looked up and saw Devin standing at the corner of the building, her arms wrapped around her frame. She saw Mark looking at her with heavy eyes and continued towards him. She sat next to him, her body warm and cold at the same time. "Why'd you run?" She asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Because Eden made a mistake. She's strayed too far from God's light. She's turned her back on Him." He said, his voice shaking and his breath creating small puffs of crisp air in front of his lips. Devin snorted. She placed her elbows back on the table, tilting her head up towards the sky. "No offense, but that's bullshit. God created everyone, right? And He makes no mistakes?" She asked, looking at Mark with dulled eyes. He  nodded hesitantly, not knowing where she was going with this. "And He says to 'love thy neighbor as yourself' or something, right?" Another nod.

"So Eden and Ricky are following that. They're respectful, polite people. So what if they have a different love than you? They're no different from your parents, or mine, or anyone's. Isn't it hypocritical to dismiss that they have very healthy relationships just because they're dating someone of the same gender?" Devin said, her words speeding up the more she talked.

Mark could tell she was worked up.

"I guess. It's just...since I was a kid, I was taught that there were certain ways to do things, and that anything else was wrong. I was able to deal with Eden's lifestyle, and the voodoo, and all that, and I'm beginning to be able to stomach you guys, but it's difficult. And if dad knew...I'd never see Eden again." Mark said, his breathing starting to speed up a little bit.

"Hey." Devin grabbed his chin and made him face her. "There's nothing wrong with you, or them, or anyone. They're adults. They can make their own decisions. And really, does it honestly affect you _that_ much?" She asked, dropping her hand from Mark's jaw. His skin felt freezing without her body heat.

She leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek before standing and walking away.


	5. V

After that conversation, Mark and Devin became closer. Chris slowly started warming up to the teen, and Josh seemed happy to have someone new to talk to. 

But it was only a matter of time before Mark found out.

It was several months after the goths had moved into town. He and the others had gone to the pool during the hot July summer. Devin had work before the others, and Mark had some work he had to do for the summer camp he worked at. So, they dried off and began the short, few minute drive back to their houses.

Devin insisted on Mark coming into her house. She said that it was easier for her, and she needed some help gathering up her piercings supplies, as Chris and Ricky had been using them. (Don't ask, was what she said to Mark when he started to question it.) So, he agreed. They had barely gotten upstairs before Devin started shedding her towel and bikini.

Mark turned away and blindly tried to follow Devin into the room she was going into. He heard fabric rustling and Devin laughing. "You can look." He opened his eyes but kept his head turned away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Devin's pale stomach. He didn't intend on looking, but his brain was slightly curious, and some other part was even more intrigued.

He turned.

But all he saw was Devin lowering her tee shirt down to reach the hem of her shorts. She laughed at Mark's facial expression. "I'm going to take off my makeup and dry my hair. You can change and then I'll help you with your hair if you want." She said before disappearing into her bathroom.

Mark nodded, even though she couldn't see him. He dug through his bag and found his tank top and a pair of shorts. He quickly changed, shoving his wet swim trunks back into his bag. He looked around the room.

It was clearly Devin's. A few stray dresses and bras were scattered on the floor. Her bed was dressed in Nightmare Before Christmas sheets. A neat rack of shoes sat in the opened closet. Misfits and Rob Zombie posters plastered the walls. An Edward Scissor Hands doll sat on her dresser. 

A notebook was opened on her bed, covered in hastily written words and music notes. A bass was laid on top of her bed.

He heard her hair dryer click off and the water turn on. He made his way to the bathroom, willing to take up her offer about helping him with his hair. He knocked quietly and then opened the door. The hair dryer was unplugged and resting on the counter top, amidst makeup and hair dye. Devin was bent over the sink, scrubbing her face with a wet washcloth. Mark tapped her on the shoulder.

She jumped and turned.

Even without makeup, she was pretty. But...something was wrong.

He wasn't too shocked about the missing eyebrows. What struck him was the different facial structure, the chubbier cheeks, the brown eyes staring back at him.

The shallow shadow covering her cheeks, obviously the remnants of a freshly shaved beard.

He ran.


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be some slight homophobic/transphobic language in this part (Devin is referred to as 'it" instead of he or she) (and the other f word is dropped)

"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned." 

Mark was in the confessional, bent on his knees and eyes to the ground. He held his rosary in his grasp, so tightly that his knuckles turned white and the cross bit into his fingers.

"It's been 2 months since I last confessed. I, um...I don't know how to say this." He cleared his throat. He took a deep breath and heard the priest softly tell him that no one would judge him for his sins.

"I have had impure thoughts about another man. At the time, I thought he was a woman. He dressed as one, spoke as one..." He trailed off. "Why did you consort with this man if you knew it was sinful?" "I didn't know any better. He moved in next door to me and was very polite. He was very convincing; I had no clue that it wasn't actually a girl. I am deeply sorry." Mark took a deep, shaky breath. "Don't worry, God still loves you. Say ten hail Mary's a day for a week and you'll be forgiven."

'''''''

The entire ride home, Mark was mentally kicking himself.

He should have known.

He should have found something,  _anything,_ that would've told him.

He felt a little betrayed.

Of course Devin was a faggot. Of fucking course. He got home and flung open the front door. He blew past his mom and stormed into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. 

He cried.

''''''

Mark holed himself away in his room for 3 days. He knew it was pathetic to wallow in self pity about something that doesn't affect him, and he might just barely be an adult, but he was an adult nonetheless and he could do whatever he wanted. It was perfectly healthy. Then again, he probably lost a pound of water weight.

It was another 2 days full of 'Hail Mary"s before his visitor came. When Amy yelled up the stairs that he had a visitor, he just groaned loudly at her. It was probably Marie, wondering why he hadn't been at the shelters lately. So he didn't budge from the beanbag chair shoved into the corner of the room when the door creaked open. "Hey." The deep voice startled him.

It definitely wasn't Marie.

Chris was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest as his eyes drilled a hole into Mark's head. "What are you doing here?" Mark snapped, sinking his weight deeper into the beanbag chair. Chris sighed and thumped his head back against the wall. "What do you think?" Chris asked, raising a drawn eyebrow. Mark's face sunk even more. "Go away. I don't want to talk about... _it._ " The word slid off his tongue like a knife, leaving a coppery taste in his mouth. "He has a name you know." "I don't care. _It's_ a sinner." Just speaking of _it_ made his heart hurt. Chris sighed heavily. "And just when I thought you were a nice guy." A heavy silence settled over the room.

"Say it again."

"What?" Mark was confused now. "Say 'it' again. Call Devin 'it' one more time. Come on." Mark lay silent. "If you're so insistent that it's okay to talk to another fucking person that way, say it." More silence. "I wear makeup. I have long hair. Call me 'it'. Rick has long hair and wears makeup and girl's jeans. Call him 'it'.  _I fucking dare_ _you._ " Mark burst to his feet, face red and hands clenched at his sides. 

"What do you want!? Did you come to my house to harass me? Huh? Tell me." He was getting so frustrated that tears were welling in the corners of his eyes. Chris took a step closer. He was so fucking  _tall,_ and he towered almost half a foot over Mark. It was terrifying. "I came here because my best friend-my brother- has been shunned and rejected all his life. I came over here because he thought you were different. Hell, we all did! But no, you're so stuck in your own beliefs and fears that you can't see that he's still the same person you were friends with a week ago. He's been this person his whole life and nothing's changing it. He thought you'd be one of the people that would stay. But I guess not." Chris turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, heavy footsteps echoing through the house.

Mark was dumbfounded.

''''''

Mark always felt better when he was at church. The large, swelling ceilings and large stained glass mosaics filled him with peace. The worn pews and fading crosses.... A small rack of candles burned at the sides of the room. The wood of the pew bit into his back, the well-used cushion doing nothing to block the hard wood from his thighs. The sun was shining in his eyes, but he didn't care. 

He felt at home.

The heavy door creaked open. Mark didn't bother to look away from the Virgin Mary statue sitting behind the alter. The soft click of a lighter could be heard through the stone-quiet room as the stranger lit one of the candles. Heels clicked along the wood ground and the cushion next to Mark dipped. "Haven't seen you in a while." The voice was soft and almost broken. It was familiar. He looked up and his heart leapt into his throat.

It was Devin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the interaction between Chris and Mark is based loosely off of an encounter I had after coming out to a friend the other day and my best friend stepping in)


End file.
